TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Survivors and rescuers combed through destroyed towns and neighborhoods on Thursday, looking for belongings and victims after dozens of tornadoes ripped through the South overnight.
The death toll continued to climb in Alabama, and at least 298 people in six states perished in the deadliest outbreak in nearly 40 years.
People in hard-hit Alabama, where at least 210 deaths occurred, walked through flattened, debris-strewn neighborhoods and told of pulling bodies from rubble after the storms passed.
"We have neighborhoods that have been basically removed from the map," Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said after surveying his city.
President Barack Obama on Thursday signed a disaster declaration for Alabama to help residents clean up the devastation. The declaration, which covers eight counties, means federal aid will be available to those who seek it.
Obama was planning to visit Alabama on Friday. "We will stand with you as you rebuild," he said in a message to victims from the White House.
Trying to count the tornadoes The center received more than 170 tornado reports around the region, but some tornadoes were probably reported multiple times and it could take days to get a final count.
Video: Tragedy in Tuscaloosa: 'Nothing...will fix this' (on this page)Brooks said 50 to 60 reports — from the Mississippi-Alabama line, through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and into Georgia and southwestern Tennessee — might end up being a single tornado. If that's true its path would be one of the longest on record for a twister, rivaling a 1925 tornado that raged for 219 miles.
"It happened so fast it was unbelievable," said Jerry Stewart, a 63-year-old retired firefighter who was picking through the remains of his son's home in Pleasant Grove, a suburb of Birmingham. "They said the storm was in Tuscaloosa and it would be here in 15 minutes. And before I knew it, it was here."
He and his wife, along with their daughter and two grandchildren, survived by hiding under their front porch. Friends who did the same weren't so lucky — Stewart said he pulled out the bodies of two neighbors whose home was ripped off its foundation.
Samantha Nail surveyed the damage in the blue-collar subdivision of Pleasant Grove where hers was the only home still intact. The storm slammed heavy pickup trucks into ditches and obliterated tidy brick houses, leaving behind a mess of mattresses, electronics and children's toys scattered across a grassy plain where dozens used to live.
"We were in the bathroom holding on to each other and holding on to dear life," Nail said. "If it wasn't for our concrete walls, our home would be gone like the rest of them."
The death toll in Alabama stood at 210 as of Thursday night, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency said.With as many as one million people without power in Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley said 2,000 National Guard troops had been activated and were helping to search devastated areas for people still missing.
The National Weather Service and forecasters did a good job of alerting people, he added, but there was only so much that could be done to deal with tornadoes a mile wide.
"You cannot prepare against an F5," the most powerful category on a scale for measuring wind intensity, Bentley said.
People move a wall in an effort to see if anyone had been buried by rubble in the Alberta neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday, April 29.
Tracy Hannah reacts after returning to her house for the first time since a tornado swept through the Alberta community near Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Friday.
Michael Hodges looks for salvageable items in the rubble of a law office in the Albert neighborhood of Tuscaloosa on Friday.
President Barack Obama tours a destroyed neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday. "I've never seen devastation like this," he said.
Alyssa Mosley, 14, checks the piano at the Alberta Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa on Friday.
A police officer looks in the back of a destroyed car in Tuscaloosa on Friday.
Jacqueline Wilson looks through what is left of her mother's home in Tuscaloosa on Friday.
Brothers Darrell and Shane Gilland work on their parents' home in Bethel, Va., on Friday. Their parents survived a twister that hit early Thursday.
Eleanor Stubbs is rescued on Thursday after her home was ravaged by a tornado in Concord, Ala.
Desiree Jemison cries after seeing the belongings of her hospitalized relatives in Pleasant Grove, Ala., on Thursday.
A man finds a photo album a block away from his home in Concord, Ala.,Thursday, where a tornado ripped through the area.
Jennifer Rupley on Thursday shows the injuries she received in a vehicle in Phil Campbell, Ala. as a tornado completely demolished her home.
People move a wall in an effort to see if anyone had been buried by rubble in the Alberta neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday, April 29.Tracy Hannah reacts after returning to her house for the first time since a tornado swept through the Alberta community near Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Friday.Michael Hodges looks for salvageable items in the rubble of a law office in the Albert neighborhood of Tuscaloosa on Friday.President Barack Obama tours a destroyed neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday. "I've never seen devastation like this," he said.Alyssa Mosley, 14, checks the piano at the Alberta Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa on Friday.A police officer looks in the back of a destroyed car in Tuscaloosa on Friday.Jacqueline Wilson looks through what is left of her mother's home in Tuscaloosa on Friday.Brothers Darrell and Shane Gilland work on their parents' home in Bethel, Va., on Friday. Their parents survived a twister that hit early Thursday.Eleanor Stubbs is rescued on Thursday after her home was ravaged by a tornado in Concord, Ala.Desiree Jemison cries after seeing the belongings of her hospitalized relatives in Pleasant Grove, Ala., on Thursday.A man finds a photo album a block away from his home in Concord, Ala.,Thursday, where a tornado ripped through the area.Jennifer Rupley on Thursday shows the injuries she received in a vehicle in Phil Campbell, Ala. as a tornado completely demolished her home.Deadliest of Tornado Crossed Three States
Tornado Endangers Tuscaloosa Hospital
Miss. Town Completely Destroyed by Storm
Tractor trailers at Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co in Glade Spring, Va. were damaged during a tornado. An official estimate of the damage which spread from southwestern to northeastern Virginia,was not available Thursday, but Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency.
Deacon Billy Walker, of Elizabeth Baptist Church, Tamarlon Madison and Kelly Bonner of Friendship Baptist Church, cook food and hand out bottled water for those affected by Wednesday's tornado on Thursday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Residents in the Alberta City neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Ala., walk out with their belongings on Thursday, April 28, after a tornado tore through Wednesday evening.
This area of Tuscaloosa, known as the Rosedale Court housing community, was flattened.
James Patterson tries to salvage items from his kitchen Thursday in Phil Campbell, Ala. His home was lifted and moved about 15 feet. No one was injured.
People search for belongings Thursday in Tuscaloosa.
Glenda Dillshaw removes debris from a bed that still has sheets on it in Pleasant Grove, a hard-hit suburb just west of Birmingham, Ala.
Children play as their parents, Kathy and Nickie Hughes, shift through what is left of their home in Phil Campbell, Ala.
Residents begin cleaning up on Thursday after a twister decimated Pratt City, Ala.
The shell of a home is all that remains after being hit by the tornado in Pratt City.
Residents survey storm damage in Pratt City, Ala., on April 28. Severe weather and more than 100 tornadoes destroyed towns and killed hundreds.
Residents survey the remains of homes amid splintered trees and scattered belongings in Pratt City, Ala., on April 28.
A police officer walks through a destroyed neighborhood after a tornado swept through Ringgold, Ga., on April 28.
John Boxmeyer climbs through the rubble of a home where he was helping friends recover belongings on April 28, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The storm demolished a neighborhood near the University of Alabama campus.
Residents search through what is left of their homes on April 28, after a tornado hit Pleasant Grove just west of downtown Birmingham a day earlier.
A deadly tornado has flattened Pleasant Grove, Ala., a subdivision of Mountain Grove, on April 28.
A tornado moves through Tuscaloosa, Ala., on April 27. A wave of storms hit the South on Wednesday, splintering buildings across swaths of an Alabama university town.
Residents survey the destruction after a tornado hit Pratt City, Ala. just north of downtown Birmingham, Ala., on April 27.
Homes and businesses along McFarland Blvd. are completely destroyed in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on April 27
Trees are sheared off as debris scatters Alabama 13 after a tornado struck on April 27 in Phil Campbell, Ala.
Residents attempt to retrieve their belongings after a tornado destroyed their apartments on April 27 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Residents survey the destruction after a tornado hit Pratt City, Ala. just north of downtown Birmingham, Ala., on April 27. The widespread destruction caused Gov. Robert Bentley to declare a state of emergency by midday, saying tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, hail, and straight-line winds caused damage to "numerous homes and businesses" in Alabama.
A tornado leaves a path of devastation after as it hits Pratt City just north of downtown Birmingham on April 27 in Birmingham, Ala.
A funnel cloud is seen from Taylorsville, Ala., as it approaches Tuscaloosa, where reported widespread damage occurred during the storm on April 27.
People walk through downtown Cullman, Ala., after a tornado hit on April 27.
Sandra Smith, left, is hugged by a neighbor in Moody, Ala., on April 27 after a tree fell into her mobile home bedroom and missed crushing her by just a few inches. Smith was asleep when the tree fell and was not injured.
Buildings lie in ruins after a tornado hit downtown Culman, Ala., on April 27.
Kenny Chastain carries feed for horses from what is left of a barn near Arab, Ala., after a storm early April 27.
Volunteers work to place sandbags atop a temporary levee to fight back floodwaters as lightning from a thunderstorm is seen in the background on April 26, in Dutchtown, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri.
Ken Sanders, son-in-law of Jay and Carla Arendal, takes a rest while helping to look for items to keep after a tornado destroyed the Arendal's home April 26, in Vilonia, Ark. The couple was in the home and both survived.
Michael Lyons, of Bowling Green, Ky., a construction worker with Insight, examines a car April 26, that was crushed by a tree on College St. as a result of storms.
A Ben Wheeler firefighter, left, covers the survivor of a twister that completely destroyed her mobile home east of Ben Wheeler, Texas on April 26. She was shaken and had some minor bruises but otherwise escaped without serious injuries. A line of dangerous storms hit East Texas spawning a number of tornados in the area.
Four houses are surrounded by floodwaters from the Current River just outside Doniphan, Mo., April 26. The area received several inches of rain in previous days.
Tornado's Path Crosses Two Georgia Towns
Surveying Alabama's Tornado-Ravaged Landscape
Storm Survivors Take Stock of Belongings
Recovery Efforts Going Full-Force
Beth Freyaldenhoven and Kristen Talley, look over the property belonging to David and Katherine Talley, their aunt and uncle, on April 26 after a tornado hit Vilonia, Ark. Both David and Katherine Talley had taken shelter in a metal utility building on their property, but they died when the building was blown across a pond.
Paducah Power System workers assess damage to power lines in Murray, Ky., on April 26. Storms have unleashed more than a foot of rain across the region, and the forecast offered little hope for relief. Another larger storm system was brewing along the same path, bringing several more days of rain and the possibility of tornadoes.
Richard Bass walks through his damaged home in Vilonia, Ark., on Tuesday. Four people were killed and the town was heavily damaged by a tornado on Monday night.
Jamie Long-Sioux works near her home on Tuesday, April 26, in Garland County near Hot Springs, Ark. The trailer home was heavily damaged when a tornado hit the area Monday. Long-Sioux said she and four children took refuge in a nearby church before the storm hit.
Robert Murphree guides a boat through floodwaters to check on his home along the Patoka River in Patoka, Ind., on April 26.
People walk on a road in Vilonia, Ark., on April 26, after a tornado hit the area late Monday. The storm system killed at least seven people, including three who drowned in floods in northwest Arkansas.
Kasey Medley, right, stands on the front porch of her flooded home with her friend Erica Cass in Poplar Bluff, Mo,.on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report a levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached.
A rail service vehicle and a pickup sit stranded in floodwaters from the Black River south of Poplar Bluff, Mo., on April 25. Authorities in southeast Missouri have pulled several people to safety amid flash floods and rising rivers. A thousand residents fled their homes in southern Missouri on Monday as heavy rains falling on saturated ground threatened to break the levee protecting their town.
Residents of Oak Glen Residential Community are assisted by rescue personell as rising waters from a nearby creek forced them to evacuate their homes in Johnson, Ark. on April 25.
Nathan Ball, right, stacks sandbags in Metropolis, Ill., on April 25. City workers and volunteers helped fill the bags for distribution around town to curb Ohio River flooding. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday issued a disaster proclamation following days of heavy rains that triggered widespread flooding in southern Illinois.
A truck stalls in high waters near the intersection of Lamar Ave. and NE 6th St. in Paris, Texas on April 25.
Leon Gentry looks out over flood waters from Canoe Creek that surround his garage on Alma Ave., after he spent the morning working to secure what he could from the rising water in Henderson, Ky., on April 25.
The Black River overuns a levee along County Road 607 outside Poplar Bluff, Mo., on April 25
Kim Mada loads equipment into a truck to avoid rising water at Falcon Floats in Tahlequah, Okla., on April 25.
Butler County, Mo., Sheriff Mark Dobbs stands on a levee along the Black River, right, on April 25, where floodwaters were running over into adjacent farmland southeast of Poplar Bluff. The levee broke in this location during a 2008 flood'.
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